10572 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No.
42 / Friday, March 4, 2005 / Proposed Rules
(b) Examples of circumstances where
good cause may exist include, but are
not limited to, the following situations:
(1) You were seriously ill and were
prevented from contacting us in person,
in writing, or through a friend, relative,
or other person.
(2) There was a death or serious
illness in your immediate family.
(3) Important records were destroyed
or damaged by fire or other accidental
cause.
(4) You were trying very hard to find
necessary information to support your
claim but did not find the information
within the stated time periods.
(5) You asked us for additional
information explaining our action
within the time limit, and within 60
days of receiving the explanation you
requested a review.
(6) We gave you incorrect or
incomplete information about when and
how to request administrative review.
(7) You did not receive notice of the
initial determination.
(8) You sent the request to another
Government agency in good faith within
the time limit and the request did not
reach us until after the time period had
expired.
(9) Unusual or unavoidable
circumstances exist, including the
circumstances described in paragraph
(a)(4) of this section, which show that
you could not have known the need to
file timely, or which prevented you
from filing timely.
§ 418.3645 Can you request that the
decision-maker be disqualified?
The person designated to conduct
your hearing will not conduct the
hearing if he or she is prejudiced or
partial with respect to any party or has
any interest in the matter pending for
decision. If you object to the person who
will be conducting your hearing, you
must notify us at your earliest
opportunity. The Commissioner or the
Commissioner’s designee will decide
whether to appoint another person to
conduct your hearing.
§ 418.3650 How do we make our decision
upon review?
After you request review of our initial
determination, we will review the
information that we considered in
making the initial determination and
any other information we receive. We
will make our decision based on this
information. The issues that we will
review are the issues with which you
disagree. We may consider other issues,
but we will provide you with advance
notice of these other issues as explained
in § 418.3625. If you are dissatisfied
with our final decision, you may file an
action in Federal district court.
VerDate jul<14>2003 14:54 Mar 03, 2005 Jkt 205001
§ 418.3655 How will we notify you of our
decision after our review?
We will mail a written notice of our
decision on the issue(s) you appealed to
you at your last known address.
Generally, we will not send a notice if
your subsidy stops because of your
death. The written notice that we send
will tell you:
(a) What our decision is;
(b) The reasons for our decision;
(c) The effect of our decision; and
(d) Your right to judicial review of the
decision.
§ 418.3665 Can your request for a hearing
or case review be dismissed?
We will dismiss your request for a
hearing or case review under any of the
following conditions:
(a) At any time before notice of the
decision is mailed, you ask that your
request for administrative review be
withdrawn; or
(b) You failed to request
administrative review timely and did
not have good cause for missing the
deadline for requesting review.
§ 418.3670 How will you be notified of the
dismissal?
We will mail a written notice of the
dismissal of your request for
administrative review to you at your last
known address. The dismissal is not
subject to judicial review and is binding
on you unless we vacate it. The
decision-maker may vacate any
dismissal of your request for
administrative review if, within 60 days
after the date you receive the dismissal
notice, you request that the dismissal be
vacated and show good cause why the
request should not be dismissed. The
decision-maker shall advise you in
writing of any action he or she takes.
§ 418.3675 How does our decision affect
you?
Our decision is binding unless you
file an action in Federal district court
seeking review of our final decision.
You may file an action in Federal
district court within 60 days after the
date you receive notice of the decision.
You may request that the time for filing
an action in Federal district court be
extended. The request must be in
writing and it must give the reasons
why the action was not filed within the
stated time period. The request must be
filed with the decision-maker who
issued the final decision in your case. If
you show that you had good cause for
missing the deadline, we will extend the
deadline. We will use the standards in
§ 418.3640 to decide if you had good
cause to miss the deadline.
PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\04MRP1.SGM
§ 418.3680 What happens if your case is
remanded by a Federal court?
When a Federal court remands a case
to the Commissioner for further
consideration, the decision-maker (as
described in § 418.3670) acting on
behalf of the Commissioner, may make
a decision. That component will follow
the procedures in § 418.3625, unless we
decide that we can make a decision that
is wholly favorable to you without
another hearing. Any issues relating to
your subsidy may be considered by the
decision-maker whether or not they
were raised in the administrative
proceedings leading to the final decision
in your case.
[FR Doc. 05–4097 Filed 3–3–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191–02–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
26 CFR Part 301
[REG–148701–03]
RIN 1545–BC72
Collection After Assessment
AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
SUMMARY: This document contains
proposed regulations relating to the
collection of tax liabilities after
assessment. The proposed regulations
reflect changes to the law made by the
Internal Revenue Service Restructuring
and Reform Act of 1998. These
regulations would affect persons
determining how long the Internal
Revenue Service has to collect taxes that
have been properly assessed.
DATES: Written or electronically
generated comments and requests for a
public hearing must be received by June
2, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Send submissions to:
CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–148701–03), room
5203, Internal Revenue Service, POB
7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington,
DC 20044. Submissions may be hand
delivered Monday through Friday
between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
to: CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–148701–03),
Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue
Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC, or sent
electronically, via the IRS Internet site
at http://www.irs.gov/regs or via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://
www.regulations.gov (indicate IRS and
REG–148701–03).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Concerning the regulations, Debra A.
04MRP1
 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 42 / Friday, March 4, 2005 / Proposed Rules
Kohn, (202) 622–7985; concerning
submissions of comments or requests for
a hearing, Guy Traynor, (202) 622–7180
(not toll-free numbers).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This document contains proposed
amendments to the Procedure and
Administration Regulations (26 CFR
part 301) under section 6502 of the
Internal Revenue Code (Code). The
regulations reflect the amendment of the
Code by section 3461 of the Internal
Revenue Service Restructuring and
Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 1998) (Public
Law 105–206, 112 Stat. 685, 764).
Collection of Tax Liabilities After
Assessment Under Section 6502
Pursuant to section 6502 of the Code,
the IRS generally has 10 years from the
date of assessment to collect a timely
assessed tax liability. Prior to January 1,
2000, the effective date of section 3461
of RRA 1998, section 6502 permitted the
IRS to enter into agreements with the
taxpayer to extend the period of
limitations on collection at any time
prior to the expiration of the period
provided in section 6502. Prior to the
enactment of RRA 1998, the IRS used
these collection extension agreements,
or waivers, in various circumstances to
protect its ability to collect a tax liability
beyond the original 10-year period of
limitations on collection. For example,
the IRS historically conditioned
consideration of an offer in compromise
upon the execution of a collection
extension agreement or waiver.
In addition, the Code contains several
provisions that operate to toll the period
of limitations on collection upon the
occurrence of certain events. For
example, section 6331(k) operates in
part to suspend the period of limitations
on collection for the period of time
during which an offer in compromise is
pending, for 30 days after rejection, and
while a timely filed appeal is pending.
Similarly, section 6503(h) operates to
suspend the period of limitations on
collection for the period of time during
which the IRS is prohibited from
collecting a tax due to a bankruptcy
proceeding, and for 6 months thereafter.
These statutory suspension provisions
toll the period of limitations on
collection even if the period of
limitations on collection previously has
been extended pursuant to an executed
collection extension agreement. See
Klingshirn v. United States (In re
Klingshirn), 147 F.3d 526 (6th Cir.
1998).
Section 3461 of RRA 1998 amended
section 6502 of the Code to limit the
ability of the IRS to enter into
VerDate jul<14>2003 14:54 Mar 03, 2005 Jkt 205001
agreements extending the period of
limitations on collection. Section 3461
of RRA 1998 also included an off-Code
provision governing the continued effect
of collection extension agreements
executed on or before December 31,
1999.
Explanation of Provisions
The proposed regulations incorporate
the amendments made by section 3461
of RRA 1998. The proposed regulations
provide that the IRS may enter into an
agreement to extend the period of
limitations on collection if an extension
agreement is executed: (1) At the time
an installment agreement is entered
into; or (2) prior to release of a levy
pursuant to section 6343, if the release
occurs after the expiration of the
original period of limitations on
collection.
The proposed regulations also
incorporate the off-Code provision in
section 3461(c) of RRA 1998 governing
the continued effectiveness of extension
agreements executed on or before
December 31, 1999. The proposed
regulations provide that if the extension
agreement was executed in connection
with an installment agreement on or
before December 31, 1999, the extension
agreement expires on the 90th day after
the date agreed upon in the extension
agreement. The proposed regulations
provide that any other extension
agreement executed on or before
December 31, 1999, expires on the later
of: (1) December 31, 2002, or if earlier,
the date of which the extension
agreement expired by its terms; or (2)
the end of the original 10-year statutory
period.
Special Analysis
It has been determined that this notice
of proposed rulemaking is not a
significant regulatory action as defined
in Executive Order 12866. Therefore, a
regulatory assessment is not required. It
also has been determined that section
553(b) of the Administrative Procedure
Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 5) does not apply
to these regulations, and because these
regulations do not impose a collection
of information on small entities, the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.
chapter 6) does not apply. Pursuant to
section 7805(f) of the Code, this notice
of proposed rulemaking will be
submitted to the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration for comment on its
impact on small business.
Comments and Requests for a Public
Hearing
Before these proposed regulations are
adopted as final regulations,
PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\04MRP1.SGM
10573
consideration will be given to any
written comments (a signed original and
eight (8) copies) or electronically
generated comments that are submitted
timely to the IRS. The IRS and Treasury
Department request comments on the
clarity of the proposed rule and how it
may be made easier to understand. All
comments will be available for public
inspection and copying.
A public hearing may be scheduled if
requested in writing by a person that
timely submits written comments. If a
public hearing is scheduled, notice of
the date, time, and place for the hearing
will be published in the Federal
Register.
Drafting Information
The principal author of these
regulations is Aaron D. Gregory of the
Office of the Associate Chief Counsel
(Procedure and Administration),
Collection, Bankruptcy & Summonses
Division.
List of Subjects in 26 CFR Part 301
Employment taxes, Estate taxes,
Excise taxes, Gift taxes, Income taxes,
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Proposed Amendments to the
Regulations
Accordingly, 26 CFR part 301 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 301—PROCEDURE AND
ADMINISTRATION
Paragraph 1. The authority citation
for part 301 continues to read in part as
follows:
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * *
Par. 2. Section 301.6502–1 is revised
to read as follows:
§ 301.6502–1 Collection after assessment.
(a) General rule. In any case in which
a tax has been assessed within the
applicable statutory period of
limitations on assessment, a proceeding
in court to collect the tax may be
commenced, or a levy to collect the tax
may be made, within 10 years after the
date of assessment.
(b) Agreement to extend the period of
limitations on collection. The Secretary
may enter into an agreement with a
taxpayer to extend the period of
limitations on collection in the
following circumstances:
(1) Extension agreement entered into
in connection with an installment
agreement. If the Secretary and the
taxpayer enter into an installment
agreement for the tax liability prior to
the expiration of the period of
limitations on collection, the Secretary
04MRP1
 10574 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 42 / Friday, March 4, 2005 / Proposed Rules
and the taxpayer, at the time the
installment agreement is entered into,
may enter into a written agreement to
extend the period of limitations on
collection to a date certain. A written
extension agreement entered into under
this paragraph shall extend the period of
limitations on collection until the 89th
day after the date agreed upon in the
written agreement.
(2) Extension agreement entered into
in connection with the release of a levy
under section 6343. If the Secretary has
levied on any part of the taxpayer’s
property prior to the expiration of the
period of limitations on collection and
the levy is subsequently released
pursuant to section 6343 after the
expiration of the period of limitations
on collection, the Secretary and the
taxpayer, prior to the release of the levy,
may enter into a written agreement to
extend the period of limitations on
collection to a date certain. A written
extension agreement entered into under
this paragraph shall extend the period of
limitations on collection until the date
agreed upon in the extension agreement.
(c) Continued effectiveness of
agreements to extend the period of
limitations on collection entered into on
or before December 31, 1999—(1) In
general. Except as provided in
paragraph (c)(2) of this section, if, on or
before December 31, 1999, the Secretary
and the taxpayer entered into a written
agreement to extend the period of
limitations on collection for a tax
liability to a date after December 31,
2002, then, unless the written agreement
expires by its terms prior to December
31, 2002, the period of limitations on
collection expires on the later of—
(i) The last day of the original 10-year
statutory period; or
(ii) December 31, 2002.
(2) Written agreements entered into in
connection with installment agreements.
If, on or before December 31, 1999, the
Secretary and the taxpayer, in
connection with an installment
agreement, entered into a written
agreement to extend the period of
limitations on collection for a tax
liability, the written agreement extends
the period of limitations on collection
until the 90th day after the date agreed
upon in the written agreement.
(d) Proceeding in court for the
collection of the tax. If a proceeding in
court for the collection of a tax is begun
within the period provided in paragraph
(a) of this section (or within any
extended period as provided in
paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section),
the period during which the tax may be
collected by levy is extended until the
liability for the tax or a judgment against
VerDate jul<14>2003 14:54 Mar 03, 2005 Jkt 205001
the taxpayer arising from the liability is
satisfied or becomes unenforceable.
(e) Effect of statutory suspensions of
the period of limitations on collection if
executed collection extension agreement
is in effect—(1) Any statutory
suspension of the period of limitations
on collection tolls the running of the
period of limitations on collection, as
extended pursuant to an executed
extension agreement under paragraph
(b) or (c) of this section, for the amount
of time set forth in the relevant statute.
(2) The following example illustrates
the principle set forth in this paragraph
(e):
Example. In June of 2003, the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) enters into an
installment agreement with the taxpayer to
provide for periodic payments of the
taxpayer’s timely assessed tax liabilities. At
the time the installment agreement is entered
into, the taxpayer and the IRS execute a
written agreement to extend the period of
limitations on collection. The extension
agreement executed in connection with the
installment agreement operates to extend the
period of limitations on collection to the date
agreed upon in the extension agreement, plus
89 days. Subsequently, and prior to the
expiration of the extended period of
limitations on collection, the taxpayer files a
bankruptcy petition under chapter 7 of the
Bankruptcy Code and receives a discharge
from bankruptcy a few months later. Section
6503(h) of the Internal Revenue Code
operates to suspend the running of the
previously extended period of limitations on
collection for the period of time the IRS is
prohibited from collecting due to the
bankruptcy proceeding, and for 6 months
thereafter. The new expiration date for the
IRS to collect the tax is the date agreed upon
in the previously executed extension
agreement, plus 89 days, plus the period
during which the IRS is prohibited from
collecting due to the bankruptcy proceeding,
plus 6 months.
(f) Date when levy is considered
made. The date on which a levy on
property or rights to property is
considered made is the date on which
the notice of seizure required under
section 6335(a) is given.
(g) Effective date. This section is
applicable on the date final regulations
are published in the Federal Register.
Mark E. Matthews,
Deputy Commissioner of Services and
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 05–4280 Filed 3–3–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830–01–P
PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\04MRP1.SGM
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND
HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION
29 CFR Parts 2200 and 2204
Revisions to Procedural Rules
Governing Practice Before the
Occupational Safety and Health
Review Commission
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health
Review Commission.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
SUMMARY: This document proposes
several revisions to the procedural rules
governing practice before the
Occupational Safety and Health Review
Commission.
DATES: Comments must be received by
April 4, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patrick Moran, Deputy General Counsel,
(202) 606–5410, 1120 20th St., NW.,
Ninth Floor, Washington, DC 20036–
3457.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June
17, 2004 the Commission published an
Advanced Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (ANPR), 69 FR 33878. In
that notice the Commission announced
that it was considering revisions to its
rules concerning electronic filing, the
expansion of the range of cases eligible
for E–Z Trial, and the Settlement Part,
the availability of sanctions for rules
violations and expanding the authority
of administrative law judges to impose
such sanctions, the grounds for
obtaining Commission review of
interlocutory orders issued by its judges,
and the restriction of practice before the
Commission of lawyers and in-house
company and union representatives.
The Commission solicited public
comments regarding these areas and
invited the public to suggest other
changes. The Commission thanks those
who responded to the ANPR. The
comments were helpful and played a
large part in aiding the Commission to
formulate these proposed rule changes.
Now, the Commission asks for
comments on these proposed rule
changes, especially from those who
practice before it.
Having considered the comments
filed in response to the ANPR, this
document proposes several revisions
governing practice before the
Occupational Safety and Health Review
Commission. Although a few of the
revisions are technical and clarifying in
nature, this proposal also contains
several significant changes to
Commission practice and procedure.
For example, the Commission is
proposing new rules to allow and
facilitate electronic service and filing of
04MRP1